In June 2018 one of our clients asked Techo to arrange to have an In Service inspection carried out on a number of small hazardous chemical tanks. In order to maintain compliance the inspection had to be carried out in accordance with the API 653 standard. Unfortunately there is a shortage of engineers in New Zealand who are both qualified and suitably experienced to carry out this inspection. The best solution was to call on one of our offshore contacts and bring in an expert from Perth, Australia.
While this allowed us to provide the In Service inspection required it was not ideal in terms of being able to offer an efficient service moving forward. Techo regularly work with hazardous chemical tanks so it made sense to investigate how we could carry out these inspections ourselves. Techo's engineers worked with the consulting engineer from Perth to develop a set of protocols which will allow Techo staff to carry out both In Service and Out of Service inspections of hazardous chemical tanks and have them fully certified to the API 653 Standard.
In Service hazardous chemical tanks must be inspected every 5 years, while Out of Service tanks must be inspected every 10 years to maintain compliance.
In addition to meeting important compliance obligations, carrying out regular inspections of hazardous chemical tanks provides an excellent opportunity to look at where improvements can be made. We often find that these tanks are part of a process that is operating inefficiently, either due to the original design or as a consequence of development in other areas of the plant. Subject to the scope of the inspection Techo can investigate where improvements can be made across all areas of operation including improving hygienic processes, efficiency, capacity, recycling of chemicals, water and energy (e.g. heat) and improved wastewater treatment.
Contact Techo today to talk to one of our engineers about your requirements around inspecting hazardous chemical tanks. We look forward to showing you how a task that must be carried out to maintain compliance could also help you improve your bottom line, staff safety, environmental credentials and more.
